Plymouth Medical School Applicants 2016

For role play it depends on you. If you are a bit of an extrovert you will probably be fine anyway but if the thought of a role play fills you with dread then it is a really good idea to try to practice in front of an audience to get rid of your nerves ready for the real thing. The main thing to remember is that the actor working with you will not break out of role, they will take it 100% seriously - no giggles, no feeling ridiculous etc. so it is really important that you allow yourself to immerse totally into it without feeling silly. Usually the main things being assessed are your communication skills (verbal and non-verbal), your empathy and your ability to come up with a 'safe' coping strategy for the situation you're in (thinking on the spot). My daughter asked the drama teacher at school to act in a selection of scenarios and her and her peers tried out each part with her in turn. They laughed at each other and themselves but gradually started to feel happier with the concept.
Otherwise for MMI it really depends where you are going to: some med schools treat it literally like an exam where you do a maths test, a written comprehension, a pictorial comprehension, a video consultation analysis, a manual dexterity test, a role play, an ethics question etc etc. one of the med schools my daughter was interviewed at only used a human examiner in one of the stations. Others use the MMI format to expose you to lots of individual examiners and then each one has a mini interview/conversation with you (more like a panel interview) on a set topic. You still need to be really clear on the same 'syllabus' of stuff whatever the format.
Many of the med schools that use MMI do so because they consider them to be more protective from litigation (they can quantify and defend the reason why Jonny got the place not Jemima because everything is objectively measurable and 'identical' for each applicant) however, IMO, the best candidates are often found when examiners are allowed to go off-piste a little to find out what is under the glossy surface; sadly very few med schools have the balls still to do this. It also depends on the selection process for interview: for instance med schools that use relatively low academic criteria and have already thoroughly assessed the PS pre-interview may be more likely to have a very academic interview process to test for levels of science, mathematical and English ability.
My daughter didn't go on any interview preparation courses. The first year she had 3 interviews and got no offers so she set-up 'MedSoc' at school and she and her fellow potential medics/dentists (yrs 11, 12, 13) met up every week to discuss medical issues and practice interview questions together. Listening to others answering questions on the spot very quickly helps you to work out what sounds good and what sounds weak. I'm a GP so I helped them all by suggesting questions and offering them my advice about how to approach answering them. Gradually they all honed their interview techniques and all agreed that working together as a team for a few months had strengthened their individual chances. (My daughter got 3 offers from 4 interviews on her second application cycle so it made a massive difference to her). It's well worth trying to find someone to work with if you possibly can…

Good luck!

Mine's on the 27th aswell! Approximately 4:30pm I think.

Hahahah I'd travel however long they want me to as long as I get the place hahaha

Is yours for the 27th too?

That's cool mine is at 5pm so I'll probably see you hahah

Is it panel or MMI?

Panel


Posted from TSR Mobile

Thanks Juliet.

I've got mine soon.

What day is your interview? Mine is on the 27th


Posted from TSR Mobile

25th.

Its hard to prepare for this interview imo, its all based on one ethical scenario? So if you get a good grasp of the scenario you will get an offer. If you slightly dont get the point and waffle about it you wont get an offer.

Do they not ask any other questions..?? Like why medicine, questions about teamwork etc??


Posted from TSR Mobile

Im sure on the website it says we are given 3 scenarios we chose one and that is the basis of our interview?

Hmm I know that's true about choosing the scenario but I just assumed they'd be asking other questions too :P


Posted from TSR Mobile

Good luck! How have you been preparing?


Posted from TSR Mobile

Im sure on the website it says we are given 3 scenarios we chose one and that is the basis of our interview?

I agree with you, I would have thought they would ask some traditional questions as well as the questions on the ethical scenario. How can you talk about one case study for 20 mins lol??!


Posted from TSR Mobile

I haven't really been doing much.

Just collecting my thoughts on why I want to do medicine etc.

I am not saying the whole 20 minutes is on one scenario! I just meant the basis for interview is one scenario so you need to get a good grasp of it.
They will most likely ask traditional questions too. They cant test every skill they want with one scenario.